Bottom filler for shoes



Jan. 15, 1935. H NDY 1,988,210

BOTTOM FILLER FOR SHOES Filed March 31, 1933- Fig.1.

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Hurry F? Mundy b zma Razz M Anya.

Patented Jan. 15, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Harry Mundy, Revere, Mass. Application March 31, 1933, Serial No. 663,680

3 Claims.

This invention relates to bottom fillers for shoes and has for its general object to provide a bottom filler which while capable of general use as a bottom filler in shoes is nevertheless espe- 5 cially advantageous when used as a bottom filler in a shoe madeby the cement process, that is, a shoe in which the outer sole is attached to the shoe bottom by cement instead of by stitching or other fastening devices.

My improved bottom filler comprises a woven fabric base, a layer of unspun fibre, such as jute fibre in its natural state, superposed on said fabric base, and a second layer of unspun rayon fibre superposed on the layer of jute fibre, The layer of jute fibre is attached to the fabric base by having some of its fibres extending through and interlocked with the fabric and the layer of rayon fibres is attached to the other two layers by having some of its layers extending through or interlocked with one or both of the other layers.

In making a-bottom filler embodying my invention the laminated web may be made comprising the woven fabric base with the two layers of unspun fibre superposed thereon and attached there to as above described and then the bottom fillers of the desired size may be cut from said web.

These bottom fillers will be cut in different sizes and shapes according to the size and style of shoe with which the filler is used, it being understood 30 that the bottom filler for any shoe will be of the proper size and shape to fill the space between the insole and the outsole which is bounded by the inturned edge of the upper.

As stated above my improved shoe bottom filler has special advantages when used in ashoe made by the cement process in which the outer sole is cemented to the shoe bottom. The operation of thus cementing the outer sole to the shoe bottom involves applying a suitable cement to the sole and to the shoe bottom and then pressing the sole against the shoe bottom. This pressure is usually applied through the medium of an inflated pad.

A bottom filler embodying my invention is somewhat resilient transversely because of its including in its construction the layers of unspun fibres and if it is desired to make a shoe by the cement process with a fiat bottom then a bottom filler will be used which when subjected to the pressure involved in pressing the outer sole to the shoe bottom will have a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the inturned edge of the upper and other material which is lasted in during the shoe bottom will have a thickness slightly greater than the thickness of the lasted-in material.

A bottom filler embodying my invention is more I or less resilient transversely and the pressure involved in cementing the outer sole to the shoe bottom serves to compress the bottom filler somewhat. When the cement has set and the pressure on the sole is released the resiliency of the layers of unspun fibre tends to cause the bottom filler to expand somewhat and if the thicker filler is used such tendency to expand will give the sole a slightly rounded effect which simulates the shape or effect. produced in a turn shoe.

A desideratum in a bottom filler for shoes is that it will retain its proper place in the shoe as the shoe is worn and will not creep or tend to become displaced. A bottom filler embodying my invention has .this desirable characteristic as the presence of the woven fabric base in the filler serves .to retain the filler in shape and preserve its correct position in the shoe.

In order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustrated in the drawing a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bottom filler embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2--2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through a shoe made by the cement process and which has my improved bottom filler incorporated therein;

' Fig. 4 is a view somewhat in the nature 'of a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner in which the-layers of unspun fibre are united to each other and to the fabric layer.

As stated above these bottom fillers are commonly used to fill the space between the inner sole and outer sole which is bounded by the in-.- turned edge of the upper that is secured to the insole.

In Fig. 3 wherein a sectional'yiew through the fore part of a shoe is shown, 1 indicates the upper, 2 is the insole and 3 is the outsole. Said Fig. 3 illustrates a shoe made by the cement process and in such a shoe the edge 4 of the upper is drawn over and secured to the edge of the insole in some known way as for instance by means of tacks, staples or other fasteners, or by being cemented or adhesively united thereto, or by both some sort of fastening device and cement, and the outsole 3 is cemented to the shoe bottom. The bottom filler, which is indicated generally at 5, fills the space between the insole 2 and the outsole 3 which is bounded by the inturned edges 4 of the upper.

My improved filler comprises a base layer 6 of woven fabric, preferably relatively coarse but strong fabric, such as burlap, an intermediate layer 7 of unspun fibre, such as jute fibre, and

an upper layer 8 of unspun rayon fibre. The intermediate layer '7 of unspun jute fibre is secured to the base layer 6 by having certain of the fibres of said layer 7 extending into or through and interlocked with the layer 6 as shown at 9. Similarly, the surface layer 8 is secured to the other two layers by having certain of its fibres extending into andthrough one or both of the other layers as shown at 10. This interlocking of some of the fibres of the layer 7 with the base layer 6 and interlocking of some of the fibres of the surface layer 8 with the other two layers can be secured by the needling operation, that is, by pricking through the layers with needles which serve to carry some of the fibres of each of the layers of unspun fibre into or through the layer or layers beneath it.

In making the bottom fillers having the above construction it will be convenient to cut them of the right size and shape from a sheet made by needling together a fabric base and the two layers 7 and 8 of unspun fibre. The bottom filler for any shoe will be preferably of the size and shape to fit into the space between the insole 2 and the outsole 3 of any shoe and which is bounded by the inturned edges 4 of the upperthereof.

In making the shoe the upper will be lasted in' it will be preferable to cement said filler in place and then to apply a coating of cement to the under surface ofthe filler as wellas to the rest of the shoe bottom before the outsole is cemented thereto so that the outer sole will be cemented both to the inturned edges 4 of the upper and to the bottom fil ler.

The cementing operation is usually done while the shoe is on a last or jack and it involves the application of suflicient pressure to the sole to eflfect a tight cemented union between ,the sole and the shoe bottom. Since the bottom filler is more or less resilient in a transverse direction the application of thepressure to the sole during the sole-cementing operation will tend to compress the bottom filler somewhat.

If it is desired to produce a shoe by the cement process which has a fiat-bottomed sole then I propose to use a filler which when subjected to thepressure involved in cementing the sole to the shoe will have a thickness approximately equal to that of the inturned edges 4 of the upper or to the thickness of the lasted-in material. Some manufacturers, however, desire to produce a shoe by the cement process which has a rounded bottom of substantially the same character as a turn shoe and this shape of bottom can be produced by using a bottom filler embodying my invention having such a thickness that when it is subjected to the pressure involved in cementing the outer sole to the shoe bottom its transverse dimension will be slightly greater than the thickness of the inturned edges 4 of the upper.

When a bottom filler having this characteristic is used the resiliency of the unspun layers 7 I and 8 of the bottom filler tends to cause the My improved bottom filler will retain its posi-- tion in the shoe while the latter is being worn.

The fabric layer 6 is held in place; and prevented from wrinkling by reason of the fact that it is cemented to the shoe bottom and the manner in which the layers of unspun fibre are connected to the woven fabric layer serves to keep said fibre layers in shape and prevents them from creeping or becoming distorted as the shoe is worn.

While I have described the shoe bottom filler as used in connection with a shoe made by the cement process yet this bottom filler is equally applicable for use 'with McKay-sewed shoes. In the making of a so-called McKay shloe it is sometimes desirable to produce a shoe in which the sole has a rounded bottom and the use of my improved bottom filler in a shoe of this type gives this desirable efiect.

My improved bottom filler not only has the advantages enumerated above but it is also light in weight and very flexible and these are desirable characteristics of a bottomfiller.

I claim:

v 1. A bottom filler for shoes formed of three superposed layers, one of the outside layers being of fabric and constituting the outsole-engaging face of the filler, the intermediate layer being of unspun jute fibres, some of which extend through and are interlocked with the fabric layer and the other outside layer being composed of unspun rayon fibres, some of which extend through and are interlocked with the other layers, said other outside layer being resilient. or springy in the direction of the thickness of the bottom filler and constituting a non-matting-down layer which retains its shape and serves to prevent the jute layer from creeping or becoming distorted as the shoe is worn. 2. A shoe having an insole, an upper having its edges underlying andsecured to the insole, an outer sole cemented to the shoe bottom and a bottom Lfiller filling the space between the insole and outer sole bounded by the edges of the upper, said bottom filler having a layer of unspun jute fibres confined between a fabric. layer and alayer of unspun rayon fibres, some of the rayon fibres being carried through and interlocked with the other layers, and said layer of rayon fibres importing into the filler resilient non-matting-down qualities, the normal thickness of said layer being slightly. greater than the thickness of the inturned edges of the upper, whereby the resilient character of the bottom filler tends to separate the insole and outer sole along the central line of the shoe thereby to give the outsolea rounded contour.

3. A shoe having an insole, an upper having its edges underlying and secured to the insole, an outer sole cemented to the shoe bottom and a bottom filler filling the space between the insole and outer sole bounded by the edges of the upper, said bottom filler including unspun rayon fibres which import into thefiller resilient non-mattingdown qualities, said bottom fillerhaving a nor mal thickness slightly greater than the thickness of the inturned edges of the upper, whereby the resilient character of the bottom filler tends to separate the insole and the outer sole along the central line of theshoe thereby to give the outsole a rounded contour.

HARRY P. MUNDY. 

